In my last blog, I wrote of being commanded by the land owner, “H”, to set up one of my older sisters to have sex with him. Without waiting for me to give and answer, he said if you tell anyone I will kill you. I was too shocked to give an answer and do not remember if I did. Thinking back over how he befriended me by taking me fishing trips and having me tag along with him to do small jobs around over a period of time prior to his direct command, I was set up for the occasion. I do not recall being in “H” Coleman alone from that day forward.

We were close to moving from his property. Machinery had taking over and human labor was not needed to plant and harvest crops. Furthermore, most of the farming was being produced by large farms.

The twins, Roxie and Lizzie, 3 years older than me, graduated from Progress High School and were in the process of relocating to Brookhaven, the county seat, 15 miles east of the Caseyville community. They had secured jobs at the Brookhaven hospital, working in the cafeteria. I was in my junior year in high school when we relocated to a house owned by a black family friend near the Caseyville landmark.

My stepfather had already hired on with a pulp wood company as a woodcutter. We

Above all, I give God all the praise and glory for protecting me and my family from “H’s” evilness.

Overcomer by Hope, the confident expectation of something good.